Meeting Highlights

• Devotional from Pastor Jason Meyer
• Membership Report
• Motion to Adopt Clerical Amendments in Proposed Relational Commitments Revision
• Motion to Revise the Relational Commitments
• Treasurer’s Report
• “Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25” Update

Devotional

Pastor Jason shared a devotional on 2 Corinthians 4:1–2. Renouncing “disgraceful, underhanded ways,” the elders seek to commend their conscience on the issues of divorce and remarriage to the congregation in the sight of God.

Membership Report

At the end of the meeting, Bethlehem membership stood at 2,712.

Motion to Adopt Clerical Amendments in Proposed Relational Commitments Revision

The following clerical amendments were approved by unanimous consent.

1. Introduction, Paragraph 6: Change “concerning” to “about” (to avoid a repeated word).
2. Introduction, Paragraph 6: Change “the Majority of elders believe” to “other elders believe” (to fix subject-verb agreement and remove the unnecessary reference to the majority).
3. Guideline 3: Replace Exod. 21:10–11 with 1 Tim. 5:8 (to replace a more obscure prooftext and with a clearer text that better addresses the issue of abandonment).
4. Guideline 4: Replace 1 Cor. 7:14 with 1 Cor. 7:15 (to correct a clerical error).

Motion to Revise the Relational Commitments

Motion: To amend the By-Laws Article VIII Relational Commitments, section on Commitment to Preserving Marriages by replacing the current document with the proposed revised and updated document.

• Votes Cast: 392
• Votes Necessary: 262
• Votes For: 335
• Votes Against: 57
• Motion carries and the Relational Commitments are amended.

Treasurer’s Report

Adam Sexton presented the Treasurer’s Report to the assembly.

Second Quarter Summary

Giving was $2.49M

• Up $93K when compared to Q2 2018 giving

Spending was $2.59M

• Down $52K when compared to Q2 2018 spending
• $150K below Q2 2019 budget

Spending exceeded giving by $106K

• In Q2 2018 spending exceeded giving by $251K

Year-to-Date  Summary

Giving was $4.63M

• Up $42K from 2018 when giving was $4.59M
• Period includes an additional Sunday vs. 2018

Spending was $4.91M

• Up $30K from 2018 when spending was $4.88M
• $251K below YTD 2019 budget
• Typically spend under the budget in the first half of the year

Spending has exceeded giving by $279K

Conclusion

Finances are stable, but there are initiatives in our 2019 budget not being done that require additional financial resources

‘Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25’ Updates

South Campus

The South Campus received their official certificate of occupancy on July 2, 2019.

Unengaged People

Todd Rasmuson shared his final update as Pastor for Global Outreach by inviting a Global Partner to share a highlight from a previously Unreached Unengaged People Group that his family serves in North Africa. (See August 1 Updates Blog post.)

 

Thanks to Church Clerks Benjamin Holvey and Jacob Smith for their assistance in preparing this update.